If you want to use a voice assistant like Google Home or Amazon Alexa to control your gear, most vendors let you do that, too. Since you aren’t locked into a certain platform, you can shop around and mix and match various brands of equipment instead of having to go back to the original vendor and its walled garden every time. And if you later decide you want to add more lights, or you want to extend your network to include smart plugs, door locks, or something else, you can easily do that by purchasing and installing more equipment. Philips also recently expanded the line to include a number of outdoor luminaires. If you want smart lighting in a few places around the house, a Philips Hue starter kit will give you two to four light bulbs, either in color or white, and the bridge you need to control them. The advantage of the DIY approach is that you pay only for what you need. Support for Philips Hue lighting is nearly ubiquitous in smart home systems, and the company recently expanded its offerings with a series of outdoor luminaires (such as the Lily spotlights shown here).
